Disclaimer:
Opinions expressed in the case studies and any errors or omissions
therein are the responsibility of their authors and not of the
editors of this volume or of the institutions with which they are
affiliated. The authors of the case studies wish to disassociate the
institutions with which they are associated from opinions expressed
in the case studies and from any errors or omission therein.

Telecommunications
liberalization is a deliberate process in Barbados that offers insight
into how economies participate in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and
handle the global market. This case study will examine
telecommunications liberalization in Barbados as a reflection of its
participation in the multilateral trading system and as a response to
consumer and market demand. The study will demonstrate how Barbados
chose to use WTO instruments domestically and through the establishment
of an independent regulator. The case will describe the catalysts for
telecommunications regulatory reform, the roles of primary stakeholders,
and their key decisions. The challenges and results of liberalization
will be highlighted, and stakeholders will recommend improvements to the
process.

Barbados is a small island
state in the Caribbean heavily dependent on international trade in
services. Tourism and financial services represent the majority of
services exports and the main source of foreign exchange.(1)
Barbados is a hub for firms operating in the Caribbean due to the island’s
airlift capability and comparatively well developed transportation and
communication links. Sugar, rum and crude petroleum are significant
export products. Their dependence on government support and diminishing
preferential trading arrangements has shifted production ‘towards
niche markets of higher-priced “luxury items”…. cut flowers,
speciality sugar, as well as research and development of special
varieties and specialised rums’, according to economist Sherryl Burke
Marshall.(2) International trade in services is the mainstay of the
economy, providing consistent, annual export revenues. Barbados
undertook telecommunications reform in recognition of the fundamental
importance of telecommunications infrastructure to international trade
in services.

Barbados is at the forefront
of policy development for small island states to ameliorate their narrow
range of resources, limited scale economies, and disproportionately high
transportation and communication costs. As an example, in 1997 Barbados
adopted the value added tax (VAT) to reduce dependence on tariffs and
better position itself for trade negotiations. This is an iconic
adjustment for a small island economy interested in the benefits of
reduced tariff levels. As another demonstration of its leadership,
Barbados supports implementation of the Caribbean Single Market and
Economy for ‘the development of the region…. as it seeks to
integrate into the new global economy’.(3) Telecommunications
liberalization also exemplifies policy leadership for a small island
economy interested in greater integration into the global market of
international trade in services.

The island is a founding
member of the WTO, dedicated to engagement in the multilateral trading
system. Economist Sherryl Burke Marshall observed, ‘Barbados
participates in the WTO to benefit small countries and small island
states’. A primary interest is special and differential treatment and
special status for small island developing states.(4) Barbados participated
in early negotiations of the General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS), made additional commitments in telecommunications services, and
is a signatory to the Telecommunications Reference Paper.(5) As an economy
deeply reliant on tourism and financial and international business
services, Barbados has undertaken liberalization of its
telecommunications market to enhance its competitive position and
economic growth. In 2002 Senator Tyrone Barker noted, ‘the government
of Barbados is committed to liberalization of telecommunications, since
this process will permit Barbados to meet its commitments as a member of
the WTO and signatory to the GATS’.(6)

In consultation with
stakeholders and telecommunications experts, the government developed a
pragmatic approach to telecommunications liberalization. It renegotiated
its contract with the incumbent network, then enacted a package of
legislation to transform the regulatory environment and prescribe market
reform in stages. The legislative package reflects the tenets of the
Telecommunications Reference Paper. Barbados chose to create provisions
in its legislation on the disciplines of interconnection, independent
regulator, universal service, allocation of scarce resources and
competitive safeguards. These principles are of primary importance to
liberalization due to the nature of the telecommunications industry. New
entrants to the market must have the ability to interconnect to the
incumbent network at a reasonable cost in order to provide services. An
independent regulator is necessary to provide objective market
oversight. Competitive safeguards are necessary to prevent
anti-competitive practices by market participants. Implementation of
these provisions has played a leading role in transforming the
telecommunications market in Barbados.

After the passage of new
legislation and the consequent establishment of an independent
regulator, Barbados undertook market reform in stages. The approach is
designed to provide a smooth market transition from a monopoly to a
competitive environment. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) market for
Internet access and domestic mobile phone services were opened to
competition first. This involved the issuance of licences to competitive
providers and their interconnection with the incumbent network. The
process was protracted due to delays by the incumbent and required
active oversight by the independent regulator. The final phase opens
international long-distance and fixed line services to competition. The
independent regulator will rebalance rates to ensure that the price of
the service accurately reflects its cost.(7) The transformation of the
telecommunications market has faced universal challenges and is a direct
result of pressure from the Barbadian public and private sectors.

Barbados has a vibrant trade
community with numerous vocal interests. According to a trade
association representative, ‘Barbados has a culture of participatory
engagement…. people work together and share information…. The
government is very deliberate in including different actors in the
decision-making process.’ National stakeholders help to manage
Barbados’ engagement in trade negotiations and implementation of trade
commitments. They come together formally as the ‘Social Partnership’
to voice their concerns and advise on trade priorities and unilateral
reform. Representatives from the private sector, labour and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) exercise a well-established
consultative mechanism with the government on trade policy.(8) The Chamber
of Commerce, the Private Sector Trade Team, the National Union of the
Fisherfolk Organization, and the primary union and employer
organizations exemplify participants. Those in the Social Partnership,
new telecommunications providers, telecommunications users, public
officials and the press played important roles in moving Barbados to
telecommunications liberalization.

Knowledge of the external
market and disappointment with services domestically energized consumers
to call for reform. Omar Holder, a recent graduate of Barbados Community
College, recalled, ‘Liberalization was due to public complaints about
cost…. [and] comparison with services available in other markets’.(9)
New technology at a low cost propelled consumers to support
telecommunications liberalization. A student at the University of West
Indies Cave Hill Campus, Sian Cumberbatch, explained, ‘the state of
the telecommunications system before liberalization forced many to go
around the system by using call-back services and other technological
means to bypass the licensed service provider’.(10) Consumers were vocal
about the need for lower telecommunications prices. The Nation
newspaper reported, ‘Barbadians have become more cognizant of their
rights as consumers and now are willing to speak out on business
decisions that affect them.’(11) Consumer activism helped to press the
transition to liberalization forward.

High fees were having a
detrimental effect on business. Firms found that companies were avoiding
establishment of subsidiaries on the island due to the high cost of
telecommunications. Barbados needed an economically priced, dynamic
communications infrastructure to compete internationally, according to a
prominent Barbadian businessman. Barbados recognized the uniqueness of
the telecommunications service sector and ‘its dual role as a distinct
sector of economic activity and as the underlying transport means for
other economic activities’, as described in the first clause of the
GATS Telecommunications Annex.(12) The high cost of the underlying transport
network was creating a drag on the economy. Telecommunications users
helped to create momentum for structural change in the market.

Service firms were keen on
liberalization of telecommunications services. Hotels, tour operators
and travel services recognized the need for a state-of-the-art network
infrastructure for local and international clients. Banks, insurance
firms and retailers are heavy data users that require economically
priced telecommunications services to be competitive. ‘The “customer
card” used [to collect purchasing data at checkout lines] in grocery
stores relies on heavy-duty [data] transfers and low-cost
telecommunications…. without affordable data transfers the product
would not be a viable business service or venture’, explained a
prominent businessman. Service companies are already at a disadvantage
in the lending market due to regional loan practices that fail to
recognize intellectual property and soft assets as a basis for working
capital. Barbadian service firms advocated telecommunications reform to
lower the cost of communications.

The advent of the Internet and
public awareness of this new phenomenon created a demand for Internet
access, mobile phones and greater bandwidth. According to Anthony Gunn,
managing director of Carriaccess Communications, ‘New technologies
changed the nature of communications services and how they are delivered
to consumers’.(13) This created market space for new communication
businesses. Barbadian computer professionals were eager to grab this
business opportunity. Entrepreneurs responded to consumer demand for new
services, and a nascent information communication technology (ICT)
sector developed to build websites, create online marketing strategies
for firms and provide new ICT services. Barbadian consumers and
businesses wanted to use, access and offer competitively new
communication technologies at home. Entrepreneurs clamoured for change
in the market.

Public officials recognized
how a modern information communication technology infrastructure would
facilitate economic and social development. They analyzed how the global
technology boom could add value to people’s lives by providing access
to information and knowledge. ‘The technology environment was
changing, evolving, electronic government was coming into existence and
cheaper communication infrastructure was a priority’, commented
economist Sherryl Burke Marshall.(14) Barbados is interested in developing a
knowledge-based economy; telecommunications liberalization and the
Barbados educational technology program ‘Edu-tech’ are designed for
that purpose. Teachers and health professionals were aware of the
opportunities for online education and online health services. The
public sector viewed telecommunications liberalization as a means to
better serve constituents. The government decided to develop a strategy
for transition to an open market.

Another driver towards
telecommunications liberalization was the press. Newspaper editorials
lambasted monopoly pricing and journalists began asking questions about
the telecommunications market and the absence of services that existed
in foreign markets. Radio talk shows addressed the issues of
telecommunications liberalization. The print and broadcast media
investigated the state of the market and aired the views of consumers,
firms and public officials. Journalists wrote articles about the
industry and covered the public debate. The press served an important
role in making industry information available and publicizing the varied
aspects of the liberalization debate. ‘The press made the voters aware
of the telecommunications issues’, said Grady Clarke.(15) The media’s
decision to focus on telecommunications and provide coverage helped
restructuring efforts.

The vibrant trade community of Barbados helped
to set the stage for market reform. Exposure to information technology
advances in the external market energized consumers to call for reform.
Demand grew for Internet access, mobile phones and greater bandwidth.
Businesses were suffering from the high cost of communications services
from the monopoly. Services firms that are by their very nature heavily
dependent on telecommunications infrastructure were proponents for
change. Public officials were interested in the economic and social
benefits of a modern information communication infrastructure, and they
were ready to make the difficult decisions to change the structure of
the market in Barbados. The press fanned enthusiasm for change. ‘As a
signatory to the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services, Barbados
had joined the global movement towards liberalization and committed
itself to liberalizing telecommunications and encouraging competition
within the sector’, noted Senator Tyrone Barker.(16)

Barbados faced the challenge
of liberalizing its telecommunications market from a powerful incumbent
with a firm hold on the telecommunications network. Public sentiment in
favour of the transformation was evident, and the government used
various means to address the challenge. One of the first obstacles to
telecommunications liberalization was opposition from employees of the
incumbent. Introducing competition to the monopoly was a risk to those
employed by the incumbent, although over the long term
telecommunications liberalization will cause the market to grow and
increase employment in telecommunications services. In the short term,
the incumbent inevitably has to lay off employees. Of a population of
approximately 260, 000 people in Barbados, 2, 887 were employees of the
incumbent provider.(17) Thus there was vocal opposition from labour to
reform that would allow competition with the incumbent. The government
decided that the anticipated benefits of a liberalized market in
telecommunications outweighed the cost of initial dislocation and job
loss. The government changed the legal structure of the market.

The central tenet of
liberalization was the introduction of competition. The government
negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with the incumbent in October
2001 to bring an early end to its monopoly licence.(18) The monopoly
arrangement had provided investment in infrastructure by the provider
with a guaranteed return on investment over a twenty-year period. The
fees on international telephone calls were to subsidize low-cost local
and universal service. This arrangement worked to some degree in a
static telecommunications environment; however, with new technology and
demand for state-of-the-art services, the ‘monopoly bargain’ was
inadequate. Incumbent services did not keep pace with new services and
lower costs in other markets. As a monopoly, the incumbent had no
economic incentive to match developments abroad. The Memorandum
envisioned a transition period of twenty-one months ending in August
2003. The transition process continues with the opening of international
long-distance service delayed to the beginning of 2005.

To transform the legal
structure of the market, Barbados considered multilateral instruments.
Barbados is party to the three components of the GATS that govern
telecommunications services. The GATS Telecommunications Annex ensures
service providers’ access to and use of public telecommunication
transport networks and services, transparency in the access and use of
those services, and a commitment to technical co-operation. The Basic
Telecommunications Services Agreement provides for scheduled commitments
in, for example, voice telephony, data transmission and private leased
circuits. The Telecommunications Reference Paper has a heavy focus on
the telecommunications network’s interconnection with technical,
procedural and commercial disciplines, and the provision of an
independent regulator. The Paper contains regulatory principles on
competitive safeguards, universal service and publicly available
licensing criteria. Barbados chose to use the Reference Paper as a basis
to help design a regulatory environment that supports competition.

Barbados integrated the
principles of the Telecommunications Reference Paper into a package of
legislation and worked to apply those provisions to ensure a competitive
telecommunications market. The 2001 Telecommunications Act(19) requires
compliance with ‘international obligations with respect to
telecommunications’. Provisions of the Act reflect the principles of
the Reference Paper. Part VI of the Act, on network interconnections,
states that a carrier shall provide interconnection services to its
public telecommunications network on terms that are transparent and
non-discriminatory; in a timely fashion, at charges that are cost
oriented and ‘at points, in addition to network termination points
offered to end-users, subject to the payment of charges that reflect the
cost of construction of any additional facilities necessary for
interconnection’. These and other provisions echo the language of the
Reference Paper on its five subsidiary principles on interconnection.
Access to the incumbent network is pivotal to opening the market.

The passage of this
legislation demonstrates how Barbados decided to use WTO instruments
domestically. Part IV of the 2001 Telecommunications Act sets out
licensing requirements in conformity with the public availability of
licensing criteria discipline in the Reference Paper. Part VII has
universal service obligations under conditions that are ‘transparent,
non-discriminatory, non-preferential, and competitively neutral’,
consistent with the Reference Paper. Parts IX and X govern use of scarce
resources ‘on a non-discriminatory basis’ consistent with the
Reference Paper. Part VI refers disputes on interconnection to an
independent body consistent with the Reference Paper. Barbados
established the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) via legislation to monitor
and investigate service providers and promote and maintain effective
competition in the economy.(20) In 2002, the chairman of the Fair Trading
Commission acknowledged the government’s new telecommunications policy
as a means to meet its obligations as a signatory to the GATS.(21)

Barbados has created the legal
environment and an independent regulator to help liberalize the
telecommunications market and dislodge the incumbent’s hold on the
market. The Telecommunications Act authorizes ‘the ownership and
operation of telecommunications networks; the provision of
telecommunications services on a competitive basis; and the prevention
of unfair competitive practices by carriers and service providers’.
Yet the incumbent is moving very slowly and has made interconnection
with its backbone very difficult. For ISPs the incumbent’s execution
of this process was slow. In the cellular market, licences were granted
to four competitive providers but interconnection to the backbone was
fraught with problems. ‘In 1998 the government said it would
deregulate. The process has taken six years and is still going on. From
November to January we had newspaper wars on the issue. They focused on
the incumbent’s refusal to co-operate’, said Anthony Gunn.(22) To
provide services competitors are reliant on interconnection to the fibre-optic
network owned and operated by the incumbent. Although there is a legal
requirement to provide access, the incumbent has no economic incentive.
Gunn added that ‘the incumbent frustrated the process by inaction,
over-quoting and red tape’.

The Barbados Fair Trading
Commission is wrestling with a problem that regulators in the most
sophisticated telecommunications markets tackle — how to loosen the grip
of an obstructive incumbent loath to give up its profit centre.
Regulators in developed and developing economies use different means to
oversee and discipline reluctant incumbents including due process,
incentives and punitive measures. Adherence to due process helps to
develop public confidence in the independence of the regulator and the
fairness of its decisions. As an incentive to the incumbent, a regulator
may offer new licences to provide new services with the potential for
new earnings. Regulators also use punitive measures in the form of fines
or sanctions if more stringent means are necessary to influence the
incumbent. The Reference Paper does not reach this level of detail but
advises, ‘regulators shall be impartial with respect to all market
participants’. The problem of dislodging a monopoly is a universal
challenge in developed and developing economies.

Barbados continues to use a
pragmatic approach to the incumbent. The Fair Trading Commission is
exercising its authority to monitor and investigate the conduct of all
providers and to promote and maintain effective competition in the
economy(23) through regulatory hearings and adjudicative deliberations. FTC
proceedings allow providers and interested parties to present their
positions on regulatory issues in a transparent manner for
consideration. The FTC has handed down rate adjustment and
interconnection decisions affecting the operation of the incumbent and
competitive providers. In a January 2005 decision, for example, the FTC
reiterated its earlier findings that the incumbent had not provided
sufficient or complete information to justify domestic rate changes.(24) At
the same time, the incumbent will receive a new licence along with other
new market players to provide long-distance services. The FTC is using
incentives rather than punitive measures to continue the transition.
Adhering to due process open to the public and the press has helped to
validate the decisions of the FTC and continue telecommunications
reform.

Creating a procompetitive
telecommunications environment is also a universal challenge. The pace
of the transition is slow in Barbados but consistent with liberalization
in developed markets. As a WTO member, it has benefited from the
proactive use of multilateral instruments in its market. The considered
process of liberalization has introduced new providers and services at a
lower cost. The Minister of Energy and Public Utilities said before the
House of Assembly that, within six months of cellular service
competition, ‘we have seen the rates charged plummeting’.(25) An
observer noted that ‘the incumbent only lowered its prices for
particular services when the new entrants offered new services. Unless
new entrants were in the market, the incumbent would not have lowered
its prices.’ Despite the difficulties with the incumbent, Barbados has
experienced positive outcomes from telecommunication liberalization. At
the end of 2004, in response to competition the incumbent reduced its
high-speed Internet access rates by 22%.(26) In early February 2005, the
three major players in the mobile market lowered their long-distance
rates by almost 50%.(27) These changes can be attributed to new legislation
and a regulatory environment that supports competition. The continuing
transformation of Barbados’ telecommunications market will depend on
the independent regulator’s ability to oversee the incumbent.

The benefits that have accrued
to the market from liberalization in ISP and mobile services are also
incentives for continuing the transition. Shantal Munro-Knight noted,
‘Liberalization has drastically reduced [telecommunications] costs….
calls have become cheaper for the consumer…. incoming calls on cell
phones are now free.’(28) Competitive mobile services in Barbados have
provided cost savings to consumers and businesses. Telecommunications
rates have fallen drastically, according to a local telecommunications
expert. Mobile communications are functioning as a conduit for
traditional and new services and minimizing the need for fixed line
infrastructure. For example, a Barbadian firm plans to offer credit
checks for display on cellular phones as a service to small retailers.
Mobile phones are being used in some markets to pay bills, take
photographs and provide short messaging services. As an affordable piece
of technology that offers new services to many individuals, the mobile
phone is an important benefit that continues to fuel the transition.

Greater telecommunications
penetration and lower cost will also sustain the transition. Cellular
mobile penetration rates have risen to over 50% of inhabitants and the
number of Internet users has increased from 15, 000 in 2001 to 100, 000
in 2003.(29) ‘Deregulation of the cellular/mobile market brought prices
down and connected gardeners, fishermen — everyone’, according to
Anthony Gunn.(30) He added that the ‘most significant impact of
deregulation is growth in the telecommunications market. In 2002, annual
telecommunication investment grew by 64%.(31) Consumption has increased and
individuals who could not afford telecommunications services previously
were able to become consumers at lower prices.’ The introduction of
affordable pricing methods has expanded penetration. The ability to
prepay for mobile services has made mobile phones accessible to those
who could not afford subscriber service.

In Barbados, mobile telephones
are providing technology services such as text messaging, Internet
access and databases to individuals with limited resources for personal
computers. A local resident gave this personal account.

An itinerant gardener who makes
his way to work and carries his tools with him on his bicycle passed me
while I was in a traffic jam. I needed help with my garden, flagged him
down, and asked if he might be available. I reached for a pen and paper.
He pulled out his cell phone, entered my data, and that evening I had a
phone message to schedule a garden site visit. He was using his cell
phone as a client database. Individuals with minimal economic means are
employing this lower cost technology to enhance the way they work and
communicate with others.

Telecommunications
liberalization has had a multiplier effect on the economy, created
additional business and added to government revenues. Omar Holder, the
recent University of West Indies graduate, said, ‘telecommunications
liberalization creates business for other companies…. [for] example
advertising…. [and] prepaid phone cards’. He observed, ‘there are
taxes on cell phone calls, thus money goes to the government [providing]
direct increase in government revenue’. Liberalization has increased
employment in the telecommunications sector. Central Bank governor
Marion Williams ‘projected that during 2004, the ongoing
liberalization of the telecommunications market will gain momentum….
the level of employment should increase in…. telecommunications
industries, with the projected expansion and economic activity and the
coming on stream of the new cellular phone providers’.(32) Increases in
employment and access to new technology at a competitive price are the
incentives that will continue to drive the liberalization process
forward in Barbados.

Stakeholders offered different views on the
transition, encompassing the renegotiation of the Memorandum of
Understanding with the incumbent, the creation of new legislation, the
establishment of an independent regulator and the actual move to market
reform. From witnessing this process, an observer asked the question,
‘Can countries that liberalise afford a watchdog?’ Extricating a
monopoly provider from a potentially booming industry requires a swift,
expert, independent agency that knows the industry and the issues at
hand. Barbados experienced postponements in spectrum licensing and
delays in the liberalization phase of international and fixed line
services.(33)
According to Anthony Gunn, ‘the private sector was not sufficiently
involved in the legislative or regulatory adjustments that were made’.(34)
Greater government consultation with the new value-added
telecommunications providers in the market could have helped to provide
a check on the interests of those defending the status quo.

Creating regulatory institutions that are
technically and procedurally adept at overseeing a pro-competitive
market in telecommunications or other newly liberalized services such as
banking, insurance or securities is a challenge to WTO members with
limited financial and human resources. It is not only a question of cost
but is also a question of technical and management know-how and the
ability to assess the respective markets. These structures can also be
highly politicized. There is a human dimension to bringing an
independent regulatory institution into existence. The regulator must be
staffed with skilled experts in the sector and individuals with
expertise in a competitive market and procedural knowledge. There are
also potential regulatory gaps with a new regulator and a steep learning
curve for procedure. ‘Commission hearings are an expensive process….
ultimately borne by the consumer…. perhaps there could have been a way
to streamline the process’, noted an observer of the transition.

In hindsight, a local entrepreneur observed
that the government ‘should have talked to other telecommunications
providers in earlier stages’. There should have been a more aggressive
interpretation of telecommunications law. He advised that the regulator
‘should have taken a more hard-nosed approach toward the incumbent….
for example, by having them open their books’. The Fair Trading
Commission ‘should have been more aggressive in combating delaying
tactics’. Advanced information technology services in Barbados would
have been out of the starting blocks earlier in that case. Due to the
slow pace of change this entrepreneur moved his firm’s data processing
and Internet back-office services to another market; he noted that ‘the
press had done a fair job of reporting on the telecommunications issues’.
The coverage would have been better if they had employed a specialist in
telecommunications.

Public attention to the process has helped.
The press reported diligently on Fair Trading Commission hearings on
interconnection charges. The Barbados Association of Nongovernmental
Organizations (BANGO), The Barbados Consumer Research Organization Inc.
(BARCO) and other stakeholders participated as interveners to express
their concerns. They are monitoring rebalancing and rate adjustment and
working to ensure that the incumbent is not given preferential
treatment.(35)
Shantal Munro-Knight of the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC)
noted that the process of telecommunications liberalization is important
to the constituents of CPDC. She said that the Centre is ‘examining
the conditions under which the telecommunications incumbent is
de-monopolizing — CPDC is looking at rates, interconnection and other
issues’.(36)
The Centre is interested in maintaining universal service and concerned
with what will happen when the market levels off. As a signatory to the
Telecommunications Reference Paper, Barbados ‘has the right to define
the kind of universal service obligation it wishes to maintain’.(37)
NGOs’ attention to regulatory proceedings complements due process and
acts as an additional check on the actions of the incumbent.

Barbados uses different WTO instruments to
enhance its domestic policy environment. In addition to the Reference
Paper, the ‘Trade Policy Review Mechanism helps the government to best
tinker with the structures in place to better integrate itself into the
world economy…. As an actor in the global market, Barbados works to
make interfacing with the international community more transparent and
easy’, observed economist Sherryl Burke Marshall.(38)
The mechanism is a vehicle for the government to see what they are doing
and make sure it makes sense, she added. Review results are
intentionally made public to enhance transparency in the marketplace.
According to a member of a Barbados trade association, ‘As a country
integrated into the world economy, it was natural for Barbados to be
part of a body that governs trade and investment, the World Trade
Organization.’

Barbados also works with WTO members in
different WTO Councils to consult on trade issues. In February 2004, the
island formally presented to WTO members its implementing legislation
for the TRIPS Agreement. As a ‘conscious policy of modernising its
system of intellectual property rights’, Barbados undertook
legislative reform and shared those results with WTO members in the
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property.(39)
As part of that process, Barbados responded to questions from Australia,
Japan and other WTO members about its new legislation. Affirmative
engagement in the Trade Policy Review Mechanism in 2002 and engagement
with WTO members in the TRIPS Council demonstrates how a small island
state makes use of its WTO membership.

The experience of Barbados with
telecommunications liberalization exemplifies how WTO members use the
organization to their benefit. The Barbadian desire for a dynamic
information communications market for the island propelled the
transition to a liberalized environment. As an economy dependent on
trade in services, Barbados adjusted domestic policy using WTO
instruments as a reference to improve telecommunications services as a
unique activity and as the foundation for other service activities. The
phased approach to telecommunications liberalization in Barbados made
the Internet accessible, expanded mobile communications, and brought in
new technology services despite interconnection delays. The oversight of
an active, independent regulator, public scrutiny and access to new
services will continue to fuel the transition. Barbados works with other
members in the WTO to benefit small island economies through astute use
of WTO instruments, active engagement and articulate leadership to
mitigate the challenges of liberalization and make real the benefits.